


The Aspect Series

by Stowaway_Macaw



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27705380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stowaway_Macaw/pseuds/Stowaway_Macaw
Summary: A collection of character studies for each of the active hermitcraft members as of season 7. This was the event voted on for my 200 follower celebration on Amino.
Comments: 50
Kudos: 59





	1. Cub's Black Opal

Xisuma looked proudly on the open book, filled with his proposition for the Hermiton Herald. While there was definitely no shortage of news on the server, it traveled so quickly that Xisuma was almost out of a job as a reporter. He could interview people, sure, but with the turf war going on, he doubted he’d get authentic responses from anyone involved, especially with his HEP affiliation. So, he had proposed a different idea: a corner of the paper where he could display more personal interviews with the hermits. The theme? Keepsakes. He’d handed the proposition to Cub and Cleo a while back and he had finally gotten it back, a single red stamp over the title page:

Approved.

Xisuma quickly scooped up the book and gathered his reporting materials, eager to get started. He skimmed the book during his elytra flight to the destination he already had in mind.

“A corner of the paper will feature an interview from a single hermit and will feature a different one for each volume. The interview will be based around a ‘keepsake’ of their choosing and the story behind it. The segment will end once every hermit has been featured in the paper.”

While he was reading, Xisuma was suddenly blasted with a gust of dry and shockingly warm air. It startled him enough that he dropped the book, but he was thankfully able to reclaim it in just a few seconds of panicked skydiving. He looked around him to get his bearings and realized he’d strayed off course drastically. He’d meant to go towards False’s base, but ended up in the complete opposite direction. He chuckled to himself dryly and shook his head. That would be that last time he flew and read at the same time.

Then again, maybe he could take this opportunity to get an interview from Cub. Deciding that this was sufficient, Xisuma fired a new rocket in the direction he assumed Cub’s base was. Not that it took long to spot. The pyramid was massive and towered over the mostly flat landscape. An ambitious project for an ambitious hermit. Lucky for Xisuma, Cub was already inside the pyramid, working on Targét. 

“Hey there, Cubfan. Might I pull you aside for a quick interview?” Xisuma asked while landing near his scaffolding tower. Cub’s eyes widened a fraction, obviously surprised to see the admin visit decked out in his reporter outfit. He quickly recovered, though and smiled at his friend.

“Of course, of course. Though, I can’t say I expected you to come this quickly.” Xisuma chuckled at Cub’s comment.

“Well, it was originally going to be False, but I flew to your base by accident. I hope you don’t mind being the first interviewee.” Cub waved his hand and slid down the scaffolding to look at Xisuma on a more common level. His gold adornments caught the light in the base, a stark contrast to his normal attire before their move to this world. Not that it was out of character for Cub; he liked to go all out like that, not that you’d know that upon first meeting him.

“Ah. That does make sense. Well I’m glad to be the first one. I’ve got to tell you a story about a keepsake, right?”

“Yup, that’s about it.”

“Perfect. I’ll be right back then.” Cub took off to look for the keepsake and left Xisuma to marvel at Targét. And the interior of the base, of course. It was such a grand build but every inch of it was adorned in detail. It wasn’t long before Cub flew back with something very small in his hand. Chances are, he’d already been thinking about it since he’d been one of the people to approve it. When he landed, he opened his hand and let Xisuma look at what was in his palm.

He held a pendant that was strung on a golden chain, much more delicate than anything else Cub owned. In the middle of the complicated golden design that wrapped several times around the center like a glittery garland was a single, very very small stone that stood out because of its dark color. From a distance, it looked like reflective coal, but Xisuma had a feeling that’s not what it was.

“Here, look closer. I know it's small, but these are really rare.” Xisuma complied and stepped closer, only now thinking to ready his camera for a photograph of the keepsake. Only then did he realize that the small stone in the center was not coal at all. It shone with every color he could think to name and shifted constantly as he moved his head around it. Cub allowed him to snap a photo before explaining more. Xisuma took out his recorder and listened intently.

“It’s a black opal. I know it seems strange that it would generate here, but that’s why I’m so proud of it. Let’s see… I think it was about two months ago. I’d met up with Scar for a little chat, nothing really significant at first. But then, I saw something move behind one of my pyramids. We snuck around for a while, but we only caught some sort of small glimpses of a small, black animal.

“We were going to just leave it be, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it so we went out at night and kept searching. Scar fell asleep on a piece of sandstone after a while, and since it gets really cold in the desert, I carried him inside so that he could sleep in an actual bed and not get sick. But right as I was carrying him in, I saw the thing we’d been chasing this whole time.

“It was a rabbit. A black rabbit. It just stood there for a bit, staring at me. It was pretty strange; black rabbits don’t spawn in deserts, and this one had something around its neck. You can probably guess what.” Cub held up the ornate pendant.

“It looked at me, thumped one of its feet, and hopped in the opposite direction. It only went a few feet though before it turned back towards me. I was going to follow it, but then I realized that Scar still needed to get to bed. When I started to go inside, it thumped more. I thought for a bit, thinking that maybe I could just take Scar with me, but in the end, I figured that whatever that rabbit wanted me to do wasn’t worth Scar getting sick. So, I took him inside.

“When I went back out though, the rabbit was gone, and I didn’t see it after that. I just went to sleep. When I woke up, I found this pendant on the blanket. I don’t think it’s really worth anything on this server, but it’s a good reminder.” Cub smiled at the memory, watching the pendant glitter in the dim light of the pyramid interior. He never found out what had happened for sure that night, but he liked to think that choosing to make sure Scar was okay and rested over following a little rabbit with a gold trinket was a good choice. Who knew, maybe something different might have happened if he hadn’t done what he did.

“What’s more, I asked Scar about it and he told me something very interesting.” Xisuma raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

“When he was still doing wizard things, he would experiment with some magic crystals, but stopped when he lost one that he’d made called the Temptation of the Oasis Crystal. It’s a working theory, but my guess is that it was looking for victims. Lucky for us though,” Cub suddenly wore a look of confidence and pride.

“vex magic is a very powerful and very protective thing.”

“I see. That seems like a rather pleasant memory.”

“Yeah, I think so too. But the rarity of it all isn’t why I keep this around. Well, that too, but there’s a bigger reason.”

“Oh? Mind telling the press what that reason is?” Xisuma held the recorder out for Cub again and he smiled at Xisuma, nodding and lowering the pendant.

“But of course. I realized right then that I had some really good friends who had my back. Scar helped me in this very harsh desert for what was probably hours. Even if we had already planned to spend that time together-- well I just think it was very nice of him to stick around.” Cub finished by clutching the pendant and puffing out his chest.

“So even if something happens like a mysterious rabbit or crazy amounts of gold or something like that, as much as I like stirring the pot, I would definitely want to keep our little family over something like that.” He chuckled after he said that.

“Well that sounded kind of cheesy. And it seems we’ve strayed from the topic at hand.” Cub smirked as he spoke and Xisuma answered after him.

“Not at all. Thanks for the interview. Any closing statements?” Xisuma asked. Cub thought for a moment before replying.

“I still plan on keeping things interesting on the server, but I like to think that anyone can come to me if they feel like they need to.”


	2. Rendog's Dreamcatcher

“A keepsake?” Ren tilted his head at Xisuma’s question, a pondering look in his eyes that were barely visible under his heavily tinted sunglasses that Ren had donned a while ago and gotten too used to to think about discarding. His clothes were tattered and his skin slightly burned in some places and slightly tanned in others. He looked like he should be worn out or completely disheveled, but he seemed just as peppy as always and somehow still looked clean and composed. Maybe the disheveled look was just that: a look.

“Yes. Will that be possible?”

“Sure thing. Just gimmie a sec, alrighty my dude? I’ve got somethin’ in mind that I think would be pretty perfect.” Ren said with a smile and wink before taking off into his house. When Xisuma had arrived, he realized that it’d been a while since he’d visited Ren. His base was absolutely massive since Ren had resolved to build an entire biome to go along with his megabuild. It had definitely progressed from the last time Xisuma had seen it, and the care that was put into it was obvious as well.

The sun was as harsh as ever and the giant pools of lava didn’t help the heat much. Xisuma silently wondered how Ren hadn’t overheated yet, but also knew that Ren didn’t need much reminding when it came to taking care of himself. The hermit had some wisdom to give and was known among the group as someone who would practice what he preached. Like Xisuma, he would remind the others occasionally to take proper care of themselves. Ren in particular had a pretty regular sleep schedule that was most likely what allowed him to work in this sweltering heat.

Just as Xisuma had completed the thought, Ren came jogging out of his house, something dangling from his hand.

“Here we go. I got this right after the election and it’s worked like a charm.” He held it up and Xisuma was able to see what it was. It was a tiny and detailed ringlike decoration wrapped in soft leather and shimmery cord weaved around it like a spiderweb, adorned with hand-carved and painted beads with very colorful parrot plumage swaying from the bottom of it. It looked to be completely hand made with a few rough patches here and there, but ultimately very nice looking. 

“Ah, it’s a dreamcatcher. May I take a photo?” Xisuma held up his camera.

“Of course. Go right on ahead.” Ren held the dreamcatcher in a way that it was easier to take a picture of and Xisuma snapped a photo.

“Awesome. So, is there a story behind this that you’d like to tell the press?” Xisuma asked, clicking on his voice recorder. Ren brought the dreamcatcher down to relieve his arm from hovering straight out in front of him.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s see… so I guess it all really started during the mayoral election. Or, at least that’s when it started getting more noticed. See, I’ve been having some pretty nasty nightmares and they had gotten pretty bad right around that time. Especially once it was announced that Scar was the one that won.

“Now, I didn’t mind personally too much since I knew he’d be a good mayor, but I was still a little bummed out, you know? Anyway, right then was when my nightmares got really bad, and I ended up venting to Stress about it. I think she already knew about the nightmares, but this was the first time they’d gotten that bad. You know, bad enough that I could really sleep properly.

“So, the next night, right as I was about to get some sleep, I noticed there was something above my bed, right in front of my map. It was this little guy” Ren held up the dreamcatcher

“and a note that was clipped to it. The note is in a different place, but essentially it was a nice little message from Stress. She was worried for me and made this to help out with the nightmares. And you know what?” Ren looked right at Xisuma with a wide smile that scrunched up the corners of his eyes.

“It actually helped! Oh I was so glad when I didn’t have any nightmares that night! It was a great night indeed. 

“The next morning, I went straight to Stress to thank her. She wouldn’t accept any diamonds, so I decided to make her a little something as a thank-you gift. Now, I’m not as good as her at making these, but I tried my best, okay? She seemed to like it, so I think that’s all that matters.” Ren let out a laugh at his own memory.

“Oh wow, that’s great! So you don’t have the nightmares anymore?”

“Nope! And let me just say, good riddance! I could barely get any shuteye in, so Stress was a real lifesaver!”

“I’m glad. Well then, is there anything you’d like to say in conclusion?”

“Yeah if you don’t mind. I don’t know if it was really the dreamcatcher that helped me, or if it was just having a gift from a really awesome friend, but either way, I think making sure that you’re there for the people who need it can end up solving things you didn’t think could be solved so easily. Of course, it’s not always gonna be that easy, but the support makes it bearable at the very least.”


	3. Stress's Lantern

Stress was outside when Xisuma found her. She had been looking at the sky and was standing under her handmade crystalline rainbow and was gazing into the glittering structure. It cast the refracted and painted light on her, making her flowery outfit look like it was coated in every hue of petal and plant under the sun. Xisuma took advantage of her lack of activity to ask for an interview.

“Uhmm, I might have something like that? Just… give me a sec and I’ll see what I can dig up.” Stress smiled and waited for Xisuma’s nod of confirmation before she took to the skies to search her base. Xisuma decided to relax a bit and take in the view of Stress’s base. It was probably the most colorful base of any other base this season, probably only rivaled by Tango’s Toon Towers. Not to mention, with all of the glass she’d used, it didn’t matter where you were in the base, there would always be at least one spot of colored light shining near you or an insect flying by that possessed intimidating size but acted as docile as a grazing sheep.

Lush grass and vines grew everywhere, obviously showing how Stress enjoyed preserving the biome she’d taken as her home. She was like that, seeing the beauty in things that were already there. Xisuma found it admirable how naturally something like that came to her.

“Hey, X!” Xisuma was startled out of his thoughts when he heard Stress call from behind some foliage. In her hand, she held what looked like an unlit lantern.

“I’ve got the thing! But is it okay if I lead you somewhere else to show it to you? It’s kind of important.”

“Sure thing. Lead the way.” Xisuma followed Stress as she led him to a different part of her base, and he took the opportunity to look at her lantern. Inside, there wasn’t any fire or anything that looked like it could be lit, rather a vine and some dirt had been put inside and the glass was coated in droplets that made the glass look somewhat foggy. Xisuma could also see the tiny flowers blooming inside and what looked like the remnants of broken glass embedded in the dirt. It was like a tiny terrarium.

Stress had led Xisuma to a little space below one of her builds that was almost completely dark aside from the bit of light that shone in from where they’d come in.

“Alright, are you ready?” Stress asked. Xisuma nodded, not quite sure what he was ready for, but he was ready nonetheless. Stress blocked off the area they’d stepped through with dirt and the space became completely dark, impossible to see anything. The two sat in silence for a bit and just as Xisuma was going to ask what exactly they were sitting there for, he saw a little speck of light flicker in front of him.

Then another. And another, then right after that, five more, flickering on and off until Xisuma could clearly see the dozen or so lights flickering in the lantern. Some would move and others would stay still, but their glow made it easier to see in the pitch black area. Xisuma made sure the flash was still off on his camera before snapping a photo.

“Aren’t they cool?” Stress asked, obviously over the moon at her little flickery friends’ display. Their light slightly illuminated Stress’s smile and Xisuma quietly clicked on his recorder, sensing that Stress was about to explain more about the lantern.

“I found them on one of my first nights here. There wasn’t much going for me then, but I had a few nice little friends like parrots and a cow. Well one night, I had gone to find some food since I’d been running low, but I got lost in the jungle. It was kinda scary, but hey, what can you do?

“Well while I was walking, it started raining and I got completely soaked. It was getting a little dark by then and I was still pretty lost, even the flowers on my little flower crown were starting to wilt. Since it was raining and the sun had set, it was too dark for me to see much and I’d got myself all disgusting and muddy by tripping over a bunch of times. It wasn’t very fun.

“I was starting to think that it might be better to just build a little dirt hut and wait it out, but then I saw something. It was a little lantern just sitting on the floor. I think it had fallen from a tree since it was tipped over and one of the glass panels was shattered. I picked it up and saw that some tiny little plants had started to grow in the lantern. I thought it was nice and since it wasn’t flooded with water, I figured that I could just take it with me and take care of the plants.

“Well right as I picked it up and shook out some of the water, I saw something else in it. There was a whole little family of fireflies inside it! I decided that now I really couldn’t leave the lantern behind so I used the little guys to help me find my way back. They were very helpful!” Stress beamed at the memory.

“I fixed the glass panel, but I made sure they could leave whenever they wanted to through the little holes at the top here.” She pointed to the tiny vents on the top and sides of the lantern. Xisuma concluded that the fireflies had accepted their home and just came and went as they pleased. It was a nice thought.

“And look, they’ve had babies! There used to be less than this.” She cooed at the hovering lights and Xisuma couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s so cool how something so nice came out of something not so good.” He commented. Stress nodded.

“Yeah, I agree.”

“Well then, any closing words you want to give the press?” Xisuma now openly held out the voice recorder and Stress seemed to have just remembered the reason why Xisuma had come over. She thought for a moment and eventually nodded.

“Okay! Please be nice to all the lovely things you find and all the lovelies you meet! It’s most definitely worth it in the end. And who knows, you may meet some adorable little firefly friends while you’re at it!”


	4. Mumbo's Pen

As Xisuma flew circles around Mumbo's base, he realized that every inch of the gigantic structure allowed the air to conduct the ever-present thump of a heartbeat. It was surreal in a way, but still somehow comforting, as if the living land had allowed Xisuma to come under an umbrella of trust for being able to hear life beat on. A heartbeat was a rare thing to hear since being you'd either have to listen to your own which would mean you'd hear it thumping in your ears which would hardly be a comfortable experience, or you could listen to someone else's and somehow get close enough to do so. In conclusion: not a common occurrence but one that the structure provided that seemed to resonate in any passerby's own chest. The build was grand, calculated, and unbelievably personal.

"Woah woah woah, look out!" Mumbo's voice suddenly echoed strangely and urgently through the base as Xisuma snapped out of his thoughts, just in time to narrowly dodge one of the wrench-like structures that framed Mumbo's base. Xisuma, after realizing that the person that had just prevented his untimely demise was the exact person he'd been looking for, glided down and landed as gracefully as he could to greet Mumbo. He looked to have been in the middle of some project as his hands were caked in redstone dust that still crackled faintly.

"Hi there, Mumbo. Thanks for the warning, but… well I must say that your base is very distracting." Xisuma joked. Mumbo chuckled a bit and gave him an apologetic look.

"Yeah, well, you know how it is. Ancient buildings that aren't ancient, mysterious magic and all that." Xisuma nodded sagely as if he understood exactly what Mumbo was saying, but suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place and rather abruptly launched into his explanation to ask for an interview on a keepsake of Mumbo's.

"A keepsake? Uhmm. Hold on, let me think for a moment- waaaiit I've got it!" But just as Xisuma expected for Mumbo to fly off and grab whatever he'd thought of, Mumbo just stood in that same spot and reached into his suit pocket. He pulled out a very neatly polished wooden box with his name etched in gold on the lid. When he opened the box, he casually pulled out a pen of incredible design. The body was a deep black and bits of it were carved away to reveal a fine layer of carefully laid gold that wound around the pen in geometrically satisfying patterns. Mumbo took off the cap to reveal that rather than just a normal pen, it was a fountain pen with a tip that looked to be well used but never abused. What's more is that the whole thing looked to have an inexplicable red sheen to it.

"Oh my…" Xisuma couldn't help but exclaim his surprise. Mumbo laughed a bit.

"Yeah, fancy, right? I thought it was an incredibly nice gesture though." There was a pause.

"Oh! Right, I still haven't told you the story, have I?" Xisuma shook his head and scrambled to click on his recorder.

"Well, this was actually given to me. See, every now and then, I'd get called or interrupted by a certain… well, by a certain Grian that lives right over there." Mumbo gestures in Grian's general direction.

"It would happen a lot last season as well. I guess it started weighing on his mind because he gave me a fountain pen one day. He did it for the first time last season and he did it this season as well. Maybe a tradition in the making? I don't know.

"Anyway, the reason I think he started giving these to me was because I'd help him out a bit. Don't tell him I said this, but he's not the best at keeping his workload down to something reasonable. Or really just keeping it normal at all. Really all I'd do is help him write lists of what he should do. I do that myself, you know.

"I think if it weren't for all those lists, then this," he waved his hand in a way that suggested he was talking about his base,

"really wouldn't have happened. I've been pretty ambitious this season, so I'm proud. I keep this pen with me for a couple reasons. First off, the box is heavy enough to remind me about whatever I need to plan out. Second…. Well it's just cool if I'm being honest. I mean come on! It's way nicer than a chicken feather!" He held out the pen and snickered before clearing his throat.

"Right, anyway. That's… pretty much the story. Though I don't really know why he puts so much effort into a gift like that. He can't really be that thankful, can he? They're just chats…" Xisuma smiled at Mumbo and clicked off his recorder, quickly snapping a picture before replying.

"I think he might've just really been that thankful. You've stuck with him, right? I think that speaks for itself. You have a talent for getting things figured out to the end. In my opinion at least." Mumbo gave Xisuma a sheepish but very appreciative look as he drew his shoulders in, a strange look for someone of his physique.

"Well then," Xisuma clicked the recorder back on.

"Any last words for the press?" Mumbo sputtered for a moment and thought before devising a reply.

"Umm, well I guess… the best way to remind yourself of something is to keep it near you; best if it's in a nice place where you'll know it's there." Mumbo smiled as he tucked the pen, now back in its box, in the suit pocket that overlapped his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took longer. My brain decided to shut down right as life decided it wanted to pick a fight with me so I was out of commission for a bit. I'm good now though, it just took a little venting, sleep, and writing to jumpstart my brain again.


	5. Iskall's Medallion

Since the giant Omega Tree had been catching Xisuma’s eye, he decided to go there next. Interestingly enough, he’d forgotten that the inside of it was as mesmerizing as it was. Flying down the middle of the trunk with the image of the wooden walkway swirling around him made him lose his bearings, but he still wanted to try and pull up at the very last minute despite the disorientation. He felt his head lurch a bit at the sudden movement and eventually glided to a mostly graceful halt. Luckily, Iskall was already there and sifting through his “sorting system” for materials unknown.

“Hey Iskall!” he called. Iskall jumped and whirled around, apparently too distracted earlier to hear Xisuma’s descent into the massive tree.

“Oh! Oh X. You scared me!” Iskall laughed a hearty and breathy laugh that brought an only somewhat apologetic smile to Xisuma's face.

“Heh, sorry about that. I came to ask you for a bit of a favor. Are you willing?”

“Well maybe. It depends what it is…” He looked at Xisuma suspiciously.

“Don’t worry, it’s not anything bad.” Xisuma clarified before asking for an interview about whatever keepsake Iskall might have.

“Ohh. Okay, well, that’s actually kind of a difficult question, isn’t it? Umm…” Iskall trailed off and he thought for a moment, his brows furrowed in concentration. Eventually he spoke up.

“Okay, how about this: I’ll look through some- Oh!” Just as it seemed like Iskall might’ve been completely stumped (pun definitely intended), his face lit up and he smiled brightly.

“I’ve got it! Yes, it’s perfect! One moment! I’ll be right back!” And just when Iskall had been taken away from his storage system by Xisuma, the very same person had caused him to go right back to digging through it, though notably in a different chest. After a few seconds of waiting, Iskall called back to Xisuma.

“So who else have you interviewed?” Even over the constant sound of things tumbling around in a chest, Iskall’s voice was heard loud and clear.

“I’ve gotten Cub, Ren, Stress, and Mumbo. It’s really interesting to see what everyone has.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I’ve gotten pictures of a black opal, a dreamcatcher, a lantern, and a fountain pen. The stories behind each one are really quite unique.”

“I see, very nice. I’m honestly pretty excited to read about it in the paper!” Iskall sounded genuinely excited, even as his torso was mostly buried in the chest he was looking through and Xisuma couldn’t help but laugh while questioning if the chest was really that deep. It didn’t look like it. 

“Got it!” Iskall shouted from his position, almost completely swallowed by the chest. He hauled himself out of it and with him, he carried a round, flat object that looked about the size of an apple. He also had a very snarky looking smirk on his face which made Xisuma slightly apprehensive for what story could’ve come from this. He quickly pulled out his recorder and camera as Iskall held out the object for Xisuma to see.

It was a circular piece of wood with a neat looking compass rose carved into the front and a simple border lining the whole thing. Despite how crisp the carving was, the wood it was made from looked pale and dry, like it had been sitting in the sun for too long. It wasn’t really anything impressive to look at, but it still intrigued Xisuma. Thus, he turned on the recorder in time for the start of Iskall’s story.

“Me and Mumbo were messing around- er… having a productive meeting at Pacific, and Mumbo was really gloomy and absolutely refused to tell me why. So I threw the coaster I had with me at him so that he'd look at me. I asked him if he was feeling down because he hasn't gotten much done and when he didn't say anything, I asked if he wanted to raise some starting funds for Pacific.

"And I know what you're thinking: 'But Iskall! You've already built a whole island, skyscraper, and rooftop pool! Where did you get the funds for that?'

"And that's a really good question. You're going to have to ask Mumbo for that one. Anyway, Mumbo still wouldn't tell me what was up and just threw the coaster back at me. I didn't know what else to do so I grabbed some iron scraps from my ender chest and carved the coaster into a sort of badge… thing. When I threw it back at Mumbo, I said he couldn't return it since it was his official Pacific Founder Medallion of Doom." Iskall smiled and chuckled before stopping himself and pausing for a second, a look of mild contemplation on his face.

"You know, he was feeling really down that day and even though he wouldn't tell me why, I got the sense that he was worrying over how much he could do for Pacific. I heard him mumbling about it before so I figured that might've been it." Xisuma could tell from the fond smirk on Iskall's face that his presumption about Mumbo's worries then was correct and by extension, his method of cheering Mumbo up was also effective.

"Mumbo said that my wood carving skills weren't as good as he's seen from others and I told him that if he really wanted me to believe that, then he'd have to carve one better. Haha, I think the whole idea came from the piña colada that I'd gotten the coaster for which means that Mumbo's meeting room idea really helped out motivation since... well we got into a sort of… wood carving competition and we strayed waaaay far from the coaster idea. Mumbo kept saying that I had to have a badge and that he'd make the best one I'd ever seen, but as he was whittling his coaster, he kept messing up and I started getting more wood to try and one-up him. This little treasure was his final result. And over here..." Iskall tucked the coaster-turned-medallion into his pocket and used his elytra to zip over to one of the rooms in his tree. Xisuma followed faithfully into a room lit with a warm honey glow and filled with shelves.

"...is all of our combined failed attempts."

And on those shelves were at least seventy different wood carvings of circular medallions of varying quality. The way they were arranged seemed to form a sort of timeline as Xisuma's eyes were drawn down the line, starting from a choppy attempt at wood carving to a near perfect rendition of a wither rose. Xisuma stopped for a moment to admire how Iskall had managed to turn such a situation around while not even knowing for sure what was wrong at the time. A good friend indeed.

Xisuma held the recorder forward again for any last words that Iskall may want to give.

"We tried really hard to improve and I think we succeeded. Lesson learned: you have no excuse to feel useless if you're the reason that you and your friend learned to do something really really epic. You've just gotta bring out that motivation in them!" Iskall flashed a smile and took out Mumbo's final medallion and flipped it around, revealing the final logo of their joint project, Pacific.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I struggled with this one, not to mention finals week and all of the prep that comes with it has been killing me. I'll see you guys once (if) I survive the week.


	6. Grian's Scarf

Xisuma allowed himself to glide around the mansion and was thankful that his helmet was still on. The air was cold enough that it would sting one's eyes as they flew through it, but the helmet was a suitable shield for his eyes. He could still feel the sudden chill and dryness of the air which gave him a deep shiver and the fact that he was wearing his reporter getup instead of his insulating armor didn't help the chills either. 

When Xisuma landed, his footsteps were the only thing he heard since the wind there wasn't blowing at all. It would have been ominous if it weren't for the happy little chirp of a green parrot that broke the silence barely a second after Xisuma's initial landing. He gave a light chuckle at the bird, puffed up like a feathery pom-pom, and laughed even more at the gigantic chest monster sprawled out behind the little avian.

"'Daww, are you looking after Grian's stuff, little guy?" Xisuma walked over to the puffy little guardian and just as he was kneeling down to pet it,

"BAH!!" 

"WOAH!" A very loud shout from directly behind him startled him off of his balance and he tipped forward onto the ground, arms flailing. It didn't take long to gather his bearings since he understood exactly what had happened based on the cackles resounding behind him.

Xisuma turned around with a playful glare at Grian who was laughing hard enough that the two birds on his shoulders looked to be having trouble staying there. One of them was the green parrot that had fluttered to Grian's shoulder after Xisuma had been startled and the pesky thing was cackling with Grian, seemingly aware of the situation. The other was a large blue parrot that Xisuma recognized as Professor Beak who, in contrast to the small green parrot, was almost too big for Grian's shoulder and was silent as a statue and was instead focused on balance and fixing some of Grian's permanently windblown hair.

Once Grian had stopped laughing he reached out a hand to help Xisuma up, a grin still on his face even as Xisuma stood up straight and towered over Grian.

"Ooh boy, sorry about that. I saw an opportunity and I had to take it, hehe." Grian explained. Xisuma laughed good-naturedly, but almost immediately started explaining why he was there in the first place. Grian appeared like he had something in mind a few seconds after Xisuma had said "keepsake" and took the two birds off of his shoulders and perched them on Xisuma's own.

"You know what, I think I've got it. I'll be right back. Prof. Beak and 'Limey here can keep you company!" And with that, Grian took off, either not feeling or not caring about the cold sting of the air in his eyes. So with the two birds on his shoulders, Xisuma mumbled ramblings to the birds as he gazed up in the shadow of Grian's massive abode.

"This mansion really is gigantic… what does he even use those rooms for huh? There's got to be a lot of them." The birds seemed comfortable, even in the presence of a mountain of a mansion since the little one was fluttering and chirping in perceived excitement at Xisuma while the larger one was determined to coax Xisuma's col hand upward to be warmed by the pet. Xisuma thought for a moment, though not liking the sudden silence made him start talking again.

"He's definitely a character. He's quite a pesky bird I think. Like you two." He addressed the birds on his shoulders. The green one, 'Limey, let out a long and shrill chirp while the other, Prof. Beak, simply shifted his perch, now content with having tempted Xisuma's hand to be around the royal blue plumage.

"Back! I've brought this!" Grian called out to Xisuma as he flew in and expertly twisted his body to cancel out his own momentum. The birds fluttered to the ground this time as Grian presented a very plain looking scarf, tattered and drenched in a rich but sun-treated blue. Xisuma snapped a picture after scrambling for his camera and whipped out his recorder while Grian told his story.

"So, this scarf really doesn't have too much behind it, but it's the reason that I was able to fly around when I was first getting used to the cold air. Xb mentioned scarves when I complained about the cold and it ended up being something I keep with me!" Grian looked happy at his story, but it was surprisingly short compared to the others.

"Alright, is that all?" Xisuma asked into the recorder before pointing it towards Grian again to make sure, but his well-meaning question was tainted by the increasingly obvious shiver in his voice.

"Oh! X, you're not wearing your warm stuff! Here." Grian proceeded to wrap the scarf around Xisuma's neck and the admin ended up surprised that the scarf was somehow one of the softest things he'd ever felt and he immediately nestled right into the warmth.

"There. Scarves are the best since they're warm and they're like a nice hug! Scarves are great when you can't have a good hug." Grian pointed out. Xisuma nodded but asked Grian if he was sure about lending the scarf.

"Of course! I don't wear it much anymore since I'm used to the cold. I keep it since it's nice and soft, but it kinda makes you feel safer too, you know?"

"Oh, that's actually quite nice." Xisuma said cheerfully.

"Yeah! I have my list of pick-me-ups: prank someone which is always good fun, build with someone in case I can't find a good prank or if I think I can help, and build over here with the scarf on since it feels like home!"

"Haha, that sounds like you for pranks to be at the top of your list." 

"Of course it is! Have you SEEN the reactions I've gotten?"

"I think everyone has at this point, Grian."

"Eh, maybe maybe not, but it's still fun! Also, it's important to have something that makes you feel all of the warm fuzzies, whether it's some pranks or a scarf. After all, sometimes that's what will keep you feeling safe and happy!" Grian said right as his birds fluttered back to his shoulders, and right as Xisuma realized he was still recording their conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this one's bad, I may or may not have finished it at 3am.


	7. Scar's Pocket Watch

Xisuma had decided to walk to Scar's village rather than fly, which admittedly was something that he and the other hermits did quite often with Scar's builds. They had a certain quality to them that just made you feel like you'd traveled somewhere far away. The crystals carefully placed around the build looked like they'd been formed in another realm entirely as each one had an ever-changing opalescent glimmer to them that was somehow unique to each crystal. If Xisuma didn't know any better, he would've said that the wooden buildings had been there for years and seen countless eras of mystical history as they were each slowly consumed by plant life, only to be restored by Scar himself as he provided a home for all of the strange creatures that Xisuma didn't even know existed. They seemed to be content though as they placidly farmed bunches of wheat and other such crops. It brought a smile to the reporter's face that quickly grew into an even bigger grin at a distant but very familiar sound of one of his friends.

Xisuma had already been acquainted with Larry the snail so he only received a lazy blink before Larry drifted off to sleep yet again, seemingly oblivious to the sound of rapid opening and closing of shulker boxes from inside his shell. The mayor inside could easily be heard as Xisuma scaled the ladder.

"Wha- nooooooo! Nooo come on!" Scar's breathy lament at his lack of luck in finding whatever he was looking for almost made Xisuma laugh despite himself. It didn't take long before Xisuma reached the inside of Scar's "storage system" but he still had to speak up before Scar noticed he was there and promptly jumped out of his skin before laughing and loosening up.

"Oh, hey there! Eheh, sorry about the mess…" Scar excused himself with a sheepish grin while he was perched on top of one of his boxes. 

"No worries, I just wanted to ask you something. It's about the paper." Xisuma explained the situation and offered the examples of interviews that he'd already collected.

"A keepsake? Hmmmmm…… interesting….." Scar looked thoughtful and stroked his chin as if he were doing so to some very existent facial hair.

"Uhh, okay well I might have something but… well…" Scar's voice raised some before he deflated into a slouched position and mumbled something into his bowtie.

"Um, sorry? Didn't quite catch that." Xisuma said. 

"It's somewhere in here." Scar gestured to the crater of boxes and a grim look was scrawled across his face. Xisuma chuckled. He couldn't help himself.

"Well I guess we better start looking then!" Scar lit up at Xisuma's words and described to him what he was looking for. Lucky for them, it didn't take long before the keepsake was found.

"Oooh! Oh oh oh! I found it, haha!" Scar straightened up from looking in a shulker box to holding up a glimmering trinket above his head. Xisuma moved closer to snap a picture and take a look. 

It was a pocket watch gilded in a gorgeous and icy-toned silver that was so clearly polished it almost looked like glass. Intricate designs lined the outside, detailing crystals and vexes and trees and a fiery sun. Xisuma clicked on the recorder as soon as Scar started to speak.

"I know it was hidden away, but I had to keep it super safe. I got this when I became mayor and I really want to make sure I don't lose it. You'll never guess who made this for me though." Scar was grinning a grin that prompted Xisuma to guess.

The taste and design on the watch reminded Xisuma of a certain Convex that Scar was often affiliated with, so the only answer that Xisuma could think of was

"Cub?"

"Nope! It looks like it though, doesn't it? Nope, this little treasure here was made by the one and only Beeee-double-Oh. He gave it to me after my first day. Not gonna lie, I was kinda freakin out." Scar hummed out a laugh before continuing.

"But really, I didn't think I'd actually win! It totally took me by surprise. I was really scared for the whole day and I ended up locking myself in my office for a while…

"Well when the sun was starting to go down, I got a knock on the door. B-dubs was apparently looking for me and he got worried when he couldn't find me. I was getting pretty lonely then so I unlocked the door really quickly. And you know what he said?" Scar cleared his throat dramatically and gave his best B-dubs impression. 

"Ahem, 'Scar you're seriously hiding? Come on. I already told you that you had my vote and I'm gonna show you why!'

"That's when he gave me this." Scar held up the watch and let the warm and homey glow of his home reflect off of the silver.

"He um… he said that he made the watch based off of my builds." Xisuma could see Scar shrink into himself at the memory, but it was impossible to miss the smile that was beautifully painted on his face. Scar was like that. Sheepish and fun, wholesome and inspiring, considerate and creative, and perhaps the hermit with the biggest sense of responsibility that Xisuma had ever seen.

"He said that the carvings were the stories that I told in my builds and the silver was the craftsmanship… or something like that. He told me that I'd be a good mayor since I had the skill to do things like that." There was a lull in the retelling that Scar covered with the sound of him clearing his throat.

"And um… he said that even if I didn't think I could do it, he'd be there to help me out." With that, Scar popped open the pocket watch and showed the inside. Interestingly enough, the lid wasn't hollow like a regular watch. Both of the inside faces were lined with a layer of lapis that was polished to a prismatic sheen. The clock face side was ticking away and bits of silver in the shape of familiar grey kitty were laid on top of the lapis right in the middle. On the other face, the silver bits were arranged in the shape of a group of small houses and trees. The second face wasn't housing a clock though. Rather, Xisuma recognized the unsteady wobble of a compass needle that looked to be coated in an enchantment glimmer.

"It points to his castle. Everyone's been so helpful and it's really great to have everyone around." Xisuma couldn't help but agree, but he also hoped that Scar realized just how much he'd done for them as well. He held the recorder back up to continue the interview nonetheless, but still offered an admiring and encouraging smile.

"Well then, do you have any closing words for the press?" Scar looked a bit startled to be put on the spot so suddenly, but he gave a few words anyway.

"Yeah… I guess just… make sure you keep doors open for people. It's really important because loneliness won't be good for you at all. Also, it's really important that you don't turn people down when they reach out to you. Friends are the most valuable thing you can have in your life."


End file.
